DOE Awards More Than $500,000 for Metal Casting Research

DOE announced last week its award of $533,328 over three years to a technical consortium, headed by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, for research into ways to improve the casting of light metal alloys. By studying how heat is transferred between the mold casting and the metal, the researchers hope to develop lighter, stronger, and less- expensive molds. One aim of the research is to reduce the amount of scrap and reworked materials in the aluminum mold and die casting industry by eight percent. The projected energy benefits in the metal casting industry alone over the next ten years are estimated to be 36.6 trillion Btu - enough energy to power all the homes in Arkansas for a year. See the DOE press release.